Is your business looking to implement a CRM (Customer Relationship Management)? Or perhaps you’ve already tried and it hasn’t been as successful as you hoped?
How you choose to integrate a CRM has a massive impact on the success or failure of the software, and have a great affect on your ability to generate qualified leads. To assist you in this process here are 2 things to consider when implementing a CRM:
- Who’s your product champion?
- Is the long-term ROI worth the short-term disruption?
Who’s Your Product Champion?
As a busy CEO or business owner, you probably see the value in a CRM solution. And if you have 11 employees or more, then 91% of your peers would also agree.¹
While you’re likely in a great position to sign off on CRM investments, you’re also likely to be too time-poor to take it from shiny and new to a core part of your day-to-day operations.
Therefore, it’s important to identify early on who your product champion will be. This will be someone who is systems-oriented, understands your business and has no problem taking accountability. If no one comes to mind, then you may be introducing more problems than you intend to solve.
Choosing the right champion matters even more if you’re migrating from an existing system. Learn why CRM migrations without the right process tend to fail.
Is the Long-Term ROI Worth the Short-Term Disruption?
Implementing a CRM comes with real short-term disruption, onboarding time, workflow changes, and a learning curve for your team. The question worth asking is whether that disruption is worth it in the long run.
That being said, the long-term benefit of investing in a new or enhanced CRM is more often than not worth the short-term inconvenience.
That’s because a CRM can increase conversion rates by 300%.¹
When properly implemented, the ROI of a CRM can exceed 245%.² It will help to:
- get more leads
- convert more leads
- retain your current customers
- enhance your sales-marketing feedback loop
- provide data and insight for strategic decision-making
Summary
In summary, the long-term benefit of successful CRM implementation can more than justify the cost and short-term disruption. The latter can be greatly reduced by having an internal product champion.
Growth-minded businesses should embrace the potential of CRMs, whilst embarking on their implementation with diligence.
References
¹ Tech.co | https://tech.co/crm-software/crm-statistics
² CRM Side | https://crmside.com/crm-statistics/
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